Vaccinations are a big part of protecting your dog or cat from illnesses and diseases that can be fatal. They also prevent outbreaks that could be caused by transmitting diseases to other animals or even humans. At Faith Vet Clinic, our veterinarians recommend the following vaccines for your pet in the North Brunswick area.
request an appointmentCore Vaccines for Dogs
The ASPCA recommends the following core vaccines for your dog. These vaccinations protect your dog and other dogs and humans against highly contagious and deadly diseases:
- Rabies
- Hepatitis
- Distemper
- Parainfluenza
- Parvo
Optional Vaccines for Dogs
Optional vaccinations are available and can be administered by our veterinarians at your request. We may recommend some of these vaccinations based on your dog’s lifestyle and environment. For example, if you enjoy hiking in the woods with your dog, you’ll want to think about getting him the Lyme vaccine to protect against tick-borne illness. Many boarding and daycare facilities require the bordetella (kennel cough) and canine influenza vaccines to take your dog, because of how highly contagious these are. Optional vaccines provided by our pet clinic include:
- Lyme
- bordetella (kennel cough)
- coronavirus
- leptospirosis
- canine influenza
Core Vaccines for Cats
When it comes to cats, core vaccines are meant to prevent infections, communicable, and deadly diseases. Our vet clinic provides the following core vaccines to your cat:
- Distemper
- Feline Calicivirus
- Feline Herpesvirus Type 1
- Rabies
Optional Vaccines for Cats
A veterinarian may recommend additional shots depending on your cat’s lifestyle. If your cat is outdoors often, they can come into contact with a variety of animals that may be infected with deadly diseases. In these cases, it’s recommended that all outdoor cats have the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) vaccine and the feline leukemia vaccine. The optional vaccines that our vet clinic may recommend and provide include:
- Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV)
- feline leukemia
- bordetella
- chlamydophila felis
Possible side effects
With any vaccination, there is a slight chance that your dog or cat may experience minor side effects. Soreness at the injection site and fever are two common reactions. However, it’s important to note that the likelihood of your dog or cat having an adverse reaction to a vaccine is very low. When compared against the possibility of contracting one of these deadly diseases, the pros of getting your shots far outweigh the cons.
It’s best to schedule your pet’s vaccinations with a veterinarian when you have the time to monitor your pet’s reaction over the next few hours. If they experience any of the following side effects, you should contact our office:
- Fever
- Loss of appetite
- Facial swelling or hives
- Vomiting and/or diarrhea
- Pain, swelling, scabbing, hair loss, or redness around the vaccination site
- Collapse
- Difficulty breathing
- Seizures